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Low-carb bootcamp

Join discussions about low-carb bootcamp plans, meals and progress. Consider speaking to a medical professional before starting any diet.

Week 1 - 2016 Pre-Christmas 8 week Low Carb Bootcamp

372 replies

BIWI · 23/10/2016 15:19

Welcome all!

I see that there are almost 130 of us signed up for this one, which is brilliant.

I'm starting the week 1 thread a little early, as I'm away this evening and won't be back home until mid-morning tomorrow, and I know you all want to get cracking Grin

So, without further ado, here's the Spreadsheet of Fabulousness

If your name isn't on it, just add yourself at the bottom. Don't worry about the alphabetisation - wombattoo will sort that out later. Add your weight, but don't touch the blue cells!

It's up to you when you weigh; I'll start a new chat thread each Monday, with a link to the spreadsheet, but if you feel happier weighing on a Friday (or any other day) then it's totally up to you.

OP posts:
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BIWI · 24/10/2016 19:51

Pop - not sure about the fat. But more importantly, you're not eating very much - only 2 sausages for lunch?! Where's the veg/salad?

OP posts:
chocbisc · 24/10/2016 19:51

I have no been exercising or minding my diet since ds3 was born. He ll be 2 in December so I'm doing this for me. I've been eating rubbish especially in the evenings at home. I got the mirena coil put in 4 weeks ago and I've put up 7 lbs in that space of time alone 😯😳. I'm sure it has more to do with the toast and biccies! Also I am down to 5 mg of an anti d will be fully weaned off next month so feeling positive!
Right, so after that essay I had :
2 hb eggs for breakfast,
1 ff yoghurt at break
Tuna and ff mayo with salad leaves at lunch
Celery sticks and some peanut butter.
Small amount of bacon with broccoli and cabbage with butter.
I drank 2 litres of water. I drank tea x 4 cups with almond milk. I must get the unsweetened almond milk.
So far so good. Can we eat anything on plan in the evenings? This is my temptation time.

BIWI · 24/10/2016 19:53

43andcounting - yes, wombattoo is right. We're avoiding all processed foods. Even in extremis these aren't a good choice.

OP posts:
PopGoesTheFuckingWeasel · 24/10/2016 20:14

BIWI I couldn't even eat half my dinner. I'm that full of water! May I ask a question while we're on the subject of water please? What counts towards our quota? I can get through 8 cups of green tea/coffee a day (always black- never taken milk or sugar) would that count towards my liquid intake? I want to make sure I'm doing this right...thank you in advance

Veryflummoxed · 24/10/2016 20:16

Evening everyone.

I had

B. ff Greek yogurt

L belly pork. (Picniking in the rain so couldn't be bothered with the salad

Veryflummoxed · 24/10/2016 20:19

Oops posted too soon

Dinner

Left over bolognaise sauce. With left over celeriac mash, cauliflower and sprouts. Cheese on top.
(Lots of veg to make up for none at lunch)

2 litres of water so far.

BIWI · 24/10/2016 20:25

Bertucci I hope there will be some veg and/or salad with your dinner this evening?!

OP posts:
lisbapalea · 24/10/2016 20:25

Dinner was bolognese sauce on courgetti with ricotta stirred through it (had some leftover in the fridge and thought it would make the courgette feel more indulgent!?!). Had a side salad of mozzarella, avocado and basil with olive oil.

Watched while dh and dcs ate yesterday's leftover crumble with ice cream but I smugly had another glass of water.

BIWI · 24/10/2016 20:28

Pop - yes it does count towards your liquid intake, but water is a much purer thing!

OP posts:
Flisspaps · 24/10/2016 20:51

Today has been shocking food wise, not enough veg. I've been at work 9am -8.15pm, and tomorrow will be worse as I'm having a general anaesthetic for an op in the morning.

We're also ekeing out the last of the food in the fridge, DH gets paid Wednesday so we can buy actual green food Grin

Breakfast - bacon and cheese omelette.

Lunch - chicken, mayonnaise, salad, leftover bolognese

Tea - tinned meatballs (4.9g carb/100g), yoghurt and cream, pork scratchings

Several cups of green/fruit tea.

Flisspaps · 24/10/2016 20:52

As I've no laptop access for the rest of the week, can someone put me on the Spreadsheet of Doom as 180lbs?

Thanks Flowers

RaisinGirls · 24/10/2016 20:57

So first day done and dusted and I'm just taking my last few sips of water to meet my target. Definitely glad I planned in advance as could feel the waivers once or twice where I wanted to reach for the sugar or the carbs.

Dinner was ok from a HFLC perspective: pork chop fried in lots of butter, a big side helping of spinach all covered in a creamy mushroom and shallot sauce made by mixing creme fraiche and some soft cheese together with shallots and mushrooms fried in butter. Pork chop was so very dry and tough though and no real crisp on the fat. Not sure pork chops will appear again!

Hope everyone made it through day one ok, and is ready to face day two armed with a meal plan and a big glass of water

bettyblueeyes83 · 24/10/2016 21:27

Ahh, it's good to be back on BC! Only tricky point was getting in starving at 8.30 so I ate some cheese and celery while making dinner. But managed a whole 'wine and nibbles' event before that on the sparkling water. Feel good!

Break: scrambled eggs with a bit of grated cheddar, smoked salmon, half an avocado, coffee with cream
Lunch: Tuna mayo salad
Dinner: Chicken thigh feta green olive red pesto casserole with celeriac mash and rocket/spinach wilted in butter
Snacks: Black coffee, cheese/celery

inaclearingstandsaboxer · 24/10/2016 21:40

I can't add my weight - on iPad and I am a technophobe!

I am also in the middle of decorating so laptop is under a bedrooms worth of crap.

Can someone fill in my starting weight ?

183 pounds

Thank you very very much

runningtogetskinny · 24/10/2016 22:02

Oops! Tomatoes, creamy coleslaw and peas for lunch, fish and green vegetables for tea - but I stupidly ate two pears for late breakfast! Didn't realise about no fruit Confused

Needabiscuit · 24/10/2016 22:08

Can someone add my weight please, I'm also on the iPad
172

BIWI · 24/10/2016 22:14

OK - I'm posting the rules here now. They're on the spreadsheet, but it's clear that people haven't read them Grin

This is how it works, in a nutshell:

Normally Bootcamp lasts for 10 weeks, but this one is starting a bit later than I would usually, so it will last for 8 weeks, so it will finish just before Christmas.

The first two weeks are the strictest, and then after that you can either:

  • move on to Bootcamp Light, which is a little more relaxed
  • choose to stay on Bootcamp if it suits you
  • choose a hybrid, i.e. Bootcamp during the week and Bootcamp Light at the weekend

We don't eat any of the following, during the whole 8 weeks:

  • potatoes
  • pasta/noodles
  • rice
  • bread or any bread products
  • pastry, or anything made with flour
  • sugar (which also includes honey, agave syrup, maple syrup)

And in the first two weeks, we also don't have any fruit, nuts, seeds or alcohol.

Each Monday I will start a new chat thread, and the OP will link to our spreadsheet, which the lovely wombattoo has agreed to oversee this time. You will (if you want to - it's not compulsory) add your weight each week, so that you can track your losses. On the spreadsheet, at the bottom, are lots of tabs which show you:

  • the rules of Bootcamp and Bootcamp Light
  • a list of carb counts for various vegetables (including a carb counter, so you can work out the carb count of the veg you're eating, if you want to)
  • a whole load of really helpful resources - books, blogs and links to videos - about low carbing, which will help you to get your head around low carbing

And here are the rules of Bootcamp. Just ten!

Print these out and stick them on the fridge or on a cupboard door - somewhere you can see them all the time.

1. Eat three proper meals a day.
"You must eat breakfast. It doesn’t have to be a lot, and it doesn’t have to be absolutely first thing, but you must have something. For the rest of the day, if you’re eating enough food and you are in ketosis then you shouldn’t be hungry between meals. But if you are hungry, eat something. (Hard boiled eggs make a great snack).

After the first two weeks of Bootcamp we will relax this, but these two weeks are critical in terms of helping you switch easily to a low carb way of eating - and if you start to feel hungry, it makes things much harder! Eating this way will ensure that your blood sugar levels are kept stable, which will mean that you are much less likely to experience hunger.

A typical high carbohydrate diet can mean that snacking is a routine part of your day. Once your blood sugar levels are stable, by eating low carb, you should find that you no longer want to snack. But the rule of thumb here is ‘if you are hungry, eat!’. (Just make sure you are only choosing low carb snacks, of course!)"

2. Avoid processed foods.
Focus on pure, natural protein as the basis for your meals - meat/fish/eggs. Things like sausages, ham, bacon, pre-prepared burgers etc should be avoided as much as possible. You can have them, but just not every day. Avoid foods marketed as low carb, eg. Atkins Daybreak bars.

3. Eat lots of fat.
Eating fat will not make you fat. Honestly! But it will keep your appetite satisfied, and it sustains your body’s energy requirements perfectly. Fat does not provoke an insulin spike, unlike carbs which do (a lot) and protein (a little). Fry in butter, add butter to vegetables, eat salad with a home-made vinaigrette dressing (not made with balsamic vinegar though, as this is too sweet), add mayonnaise where you can (just check the carb count on your mayo first). Eat fattier cuts of meat – e.g. pork belly, roast chicken with the skin on and/or eat the fat off your lamb chops. Absolutely no low fat/light foods of any kind!

4. Make sure you are eating vegetables and salads with your food.
This is where your carbs should come from, and this is non-negotiable. But choose only those vegetables that are on the allowed list. Make sure that you focus on eating those vegetables that are 3g carb per 100g or less, and this will ensure that your carb counts are kept low. You don’t have to weigh/count carbs – this is one of the great joys of this WOE (way of eating), but if you’re new to low carbing it can be helpful to weigh your portions of veg in the early days, just so that you know how many carbs are in the sort of portions that you like to eat.

5. Be careful about dairy (apart from butter, which is unlimited).
Dairy can impede weight loss for some people. If you are still drinking tea/coffee with milk or cream, try to restrict yourself to max 2 cups per day. There are a lot of carbs in milk, so if you are having several cups of tea/coffee per day, you will quickly rack up your daily carb count (e.g. 1 medium latte contains more than 12g carbs!) You may eat cheese but again, don't overdo it. Full fat yoghurt is the best way to include dairy in your diet - but beware, it does contain carbs. Total Full Fat is the best

6. You must drink a minimum of 2 litres of water per day.
"The more weight you have to lose, the more water you should drink. This is from www.low-carbdiet.co.uk/. Water is essential to weight loss for those who eat low-carb. The minimum consumed in a day should be:
Your Weight----Litres
140lbs-----2.5
160lbs-----3.0
180lbs-----3.0
200lbs-----3.5
220lbs-----3.5
240lbs-----4.0
260lbs-----4.5
280lbs-----4.5
300lbs-----5.0
320lbs-----5.5
340lbs-----5.5
360lbs-----6.0
380lbs-----6.5
400lbs-----6.5

High levels of ketones in the blood stream can lead to a reduction in ketone production, therefore being well hydrated could aid in keeping the levels low and ketone production ongoing. Consuming enough water can have many other positive side effects: aids your kidneys with the processing of protein, reduces the retention of water, helps with preventing constipation, and reduces the levels of ketones released by your breath, which in-turn will reduce breath odour. However, drinking a lot of water can mean that you also need to keep an eye on your electrolyte balance. You need to make sure that you are consuming sufficient sodium and potassium. On a low carb diet we can eat more salt, so make sure that you are cooking with salt and adding salt to food, if you like it. Good, low carb, sources of potassium are spinach (raw), avocado, mushrooms, courgettes and asparagus, as well as salmon and yoghurt."

7. No alcohol.
Alcohol is the easiest source of fuel for the body to burn, so it will always use this first before it starts to burn any fat - which is why you need to restrict it, especially in the first two weeks of Bootcamp, when we are encouraging the body to stop using carbs for its source of fuel and turn to fat-burning instead. If you really can't do this - at least try and restrict it to the weekend. Vodka with soda is the best thing to drink. Or Champagne, red wine or dry white wine.

8. No fruit.
Really. Seriously. Honestly. None at all. Zilch. Nada. After the first two weeks of Bootcamp you will be able to introduce certain fruits, but at this stage fruit is simply too carby. We are also trying to break the addiction to sweet things, so cutting fruit out is part of this process. If you are getting all your carbs from vegetables and salad, you will be getting all the nutrients and fibre that you need.

9. No nuts/seeds.
You can introduce these in moderation when you move on to Bootcamp Light, but it's very easy to eat lots of these, which means you can quickly be consuming a lot of carbs

10. No sugar or artificial sweeteners.
Sugar is an obvious ‘no no’, but artificial sweeteners are also an issue. One of the aims of this way of eating is to eat pure and natural foods, so including sweeteners is not recommended. Some people find that artificial sweeteners can impede their weight loss, and there is some suggestion that your body can respond to sweeteners as if they were sugar, by releasing more insulin - and therefore laying down fat. Given that the aim of Bootcamp is to help us lose our sweet tooth and addiction to sweet things, then it is a good idea to avoid sweeteners altogether in this first two weeks.

OP posts:
BIWI · 24/10/2016 22:16

And I should also post my usual disclaimer:

I'm not a doctor, a medic, a nutritionist or a dietician. I have no formal training in food, medicine or nutrition. Everything I post on these threads about low carbing are based on all the reading I have done over the years, as well as my own experience.

If you are on any medication - especially medication for diabetes or hypertension, please consult your doctor before you start low carbing. You're likely to have to reduce the dose of your medication if you're low carbing, but you should only do this with medical supervision.

OP posts:
momofgirls · 25/10/2016 07:04

Added 164 lb to spreadsheet.
Lowest weight at end of last bootcamp was 154 so need to get back to there.

lovelycuppateas · 25/10/2016 07:30

Back from holiday yesterday (tapas, icecream and proseccotastic) so am starting today. I'm feeling very lardy (put on weight since the last bootcamp), so am really looking forward to a bit of self-discipline. I know that once I get into it I find it easy, and this thread really helps! Will post my weight once I get to work and have access to a proper computer.

nextchapterplease · 25/10/2016 07:37

Hello please can I sign up a day late - have just braved the scales and as I suspected I am 9lbs heavier than my previous post bootcamp low.
We have had a house move , loads of visitors , been far too busy and my good habits have gone awry.
Would love to lose 7lbs this bootcamp - even more would be amazing.
Thanks for this BIWI

PopGoesTheFuckingWeasel · 25/10/2016 07:55

Good morning! Here's to day two- and resistance. Resisting carbs, but also resisting jumping on the scales every two minutes. I decided when I signed up for this that, if I'm doing it, I'm doing it right. And that means weighing once a week- on the same day, at the same time, with the scales on the same tile on the floor!

Can I ask, please, is this a "closed" group? I'd really like to write a blog post about the boot camp and link back to it, but I don't know if it's allowed.

girlrunningoncheese · 25/10/2016 08:00

Hi everyone! Sounds like lots of good first days. Me too:

Breakfast: BPC, egg & spinach 'muffins'
Lunch: Tesco Finest sausages cooked up with grated cabbage, leeks and courgette
Dinner: beef mince with veggies and slim noodles.
BPC after dinner.

NO diet drinks! I normally drink 4 a day so that's a first Wink really trying to cut out the artificial sweeteners for a bit, not sure it'll make a difference but it'll be interesting to see.

Pengweng · 25/10/2016 08:03

So far so good.

Breakfast is 2 boiled eggs mashed up with some butter and a few remaining bacon lardons.

Lunch will be chicken thighs with mayo and salad

Dinner will be bunless burger, halloumi fries and roasted broccoli

Studying today (an an assignment to finish in a few weeks) so will resist the temptation to snack and drink lots of water instead.

PopGoesTheFuckingWeasel · 25/10/2016 08:06

Girlrunning that may be my biggest challenge on this...I got through TWELVE LITRES of diet coke last week! Then I wonder why I'm still pissing about on Mumsnet at 3am.